Western Weapons Help Ukraine Isolate Crimea

Two years after destroying the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet with domestically produced Neptune Missiles, Ukraine claims to have sunken the Rostov-on-Don submarine, potentially with American-made ATACMS missiles [Newsweek]. At the time of the reported strike, the Rostov-on-Don was undergoing repairs after being struck in September by Anglo-French-made Storm Shadow missiles [Independent].

After being prevented from firing long-range missiles into Russia proper, Ukraine has been firing its Western-provided weapons into Crimea. The concentration of fires into the Crimean peninsula has proved beneficial for Ukraine. Ukraine has continually targeted Russian air defences and forced Russia to send more to the peninsula. Due to their inability to effectively shoot down Western munitions, Russia is losing the ability to supply Crimea and has forced the Black Sea Fleet to leave entirely [ISW].